Method of making moccasins



March 20, 1956 J. w ss ET AL 2,738,527

METHOD OF MAKING MOCCASINS Filed March 11, 1953 w Jig MW United States Patent METHOD OF MAKING MOCCASINS Ted J. Weiss and Charles E. Lawrence, Dover, N. H., assignors to Weiss Lawrence, Inc., Dover, N. H., a corporation of New Hampshire Application March 11, 1953, Serial No. 341,666 2 Claims. (Cl. 12-142) a softened skin, each blank being shaped to serve as the sole and upper of a moccasin. The margins of each blank were turned up, the edge of the fore portion being puckered and laced to a plug. The margins of the rear portion were secured together to make the heel portion of the moccasin. According to the present invention, each blank is cut into three pieces, the middle piece being shaped to form a left or right insole. The insole pieces of the two blanks are interchanged and inverted so that the face presented by each insole piece is the opposite of the faces presented by the adjacent side pieces, that is, if the side pieces present their flesh side, the sole piece presents its grain side, and vice versa. The three pieces of each blank are then butt-stitched together. Outsoles of soft leather are cut and cemented to the insole portions of the blanks, flesh side to flesh side. The blanks are then ready to be made up into moccasins in the usual manner except that the outsole preferably has an extension at its forward end which is turned up against the toe portion of the turned-up blank and an extension at its rear end which is turned up outside of the heel-forming portions of the blank and is secured thereto like a backstay. In the finished moccasin, the entire exposed outer surface is the grain surface of leather as is also the surface of the insole which is exposed within the moccasin.

For a more complete understanding of the invention reference may be had to the following description thereof, and to the drawing, of which- Figure l is a side elevation of a the invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of one of a pair of blanks for moccasins which has been cut in three to exchanging the sole piece thereof with the corresponding piece of the other blank of the pair;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the insole and upper pieces shown in Figure 2 after the insole piece thereof has been replaced by the corresponding sole piece from the other blank of the pair and the three pieces have been stitched together;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the outsole;

Figure 5 is a section on the line 55 of Figure 3; and

Figure 6 is a similar section with the outsole attached.

In making a pair of moccasins according to the invention, two blanks are cut out from a soft tanned skin, each blank being approximately symmetrical with respect to its longitudinal median. Each blank is then cut into three pieces, as indicated in Figure 2, one of the blanks being grain face up and the other flesh face up when so cut. If the blank shown in Figure 2 be regarded as being flesh moccasin embodying pieces preparatory face up, whichfaceis intended to be. at. the inside of the slicev upper, the pieces, 10. and '1'4 will be. suitable. for parts of a right shoe. The central piece 12. isfor. use as, the. insole and is adapted. tozbe. inverted. for use as the sole piece in thel'eft shoe. Av central sliver is cut from the rear portion of the insole. 12",, asat 16,. was to narrow the insole at the arch of'the foot. For the left shoe a blank is cut as indicated in Figure 2, the grain face being up. The side pieces of this latter blank, correspond ing to the pieces 10 and 14, are inverted to be flesh face up and are stitched to the sole piece 12 after it has been removed from the pieces 10 and 14 and inverted to be grain face up. The sole piece 18, corresponding to the sole piece 12, which has been cut from the blank for the left shoe, is stitched, grain face up, to the side pieces 10 and 14 when they are flesh side up. These pieces are buttstitched together and the edges of the cut 16 are buttstitched together.

A piece 20 is cut from a soft skin for the outsole. This piece has a short integral extension 22 at its toe end and a longer integral extension 24 at its heel end, the extension 24 preferably terminating in a pointed end 26. The outsole 20 is then cemented to the insole 18, flesh face to flesh face, thus forming a very strong bond between the two pieces. The outsole 20 thus covers the entire flesh face of the insole 18, die extremity of the extension 22 being flush with the forward extremity of the insole. The extension 24 projects well to the rear of the heel end of the insole. The outsole may be additionally secured to the insole 18 and the pieces 10 and 14 by two lines of stitching which run along the side margins of the outsole from the forward end to points somewhere near the heel end of the insole, the approximate location of these points being indicated at 28 in Figures 1 and 4.

The blank is now ready to be shaped and joined to a plug 30. The pieces 10 and 14 of the blank are turned up and the margins of their fore portions are puckered and laced or otherwise secured to the plug 30. The lacing 32 secures not only the margin of the fore part of the blank but also the tip of the extension 22 of the outsole 20 which is cemented and stitched to the blank.

The rear extremities 36 and 38 of the pieces 10 and 14 are brought together and joined by butt-stitching, and the edges 40 and 42 are brought to the rear end edge 44 of the insole piece 18. If desired, an edging strip 46 may be stitched to the top edge of the upper. The extension 24 is turned up and cemented to the heel portion of the upper as a backstay covering the seam that joins the edges 36 and 38. The pointed extremity 26 of the extension 24 projects up above the top edge of the upper as ornamentation. The lines of stitching along the margins of the outsole 20 which terminated at points 28, are now continued along the margin of the backstay 24 to or near the top edge of the upper.

Any additional ornamental details may be added to the moccasin as desired and a sock lining may be inserted and cemented in place inside the moccasin.

We claim:

1. The method of making a pair of right and left moccasins having uppers with grain face outward, which method comprises cutting from a tanned skin a pair of right and left blanks for Indian moccasins, cutting said blank into groups of three pieces shaped for the sides and insoles of a pair of right and left moccasins, removing the insole piece of each group and fitting it into the space left by the removal of the insole piece of the other group whereby the face presented by the insole of each group is the opposite of the face presented by the side pieces of the same group, butt-stitching together the pieces of each group, providing right and left outsoles of leather with extensions at the toe and heel ends, ce-

menting the flesh side of said outsoles to the flesh side of the respective insole portions of each said group, turning up the margins of each said group with the grain side out, securing a plug to the forward portions of each margin, and securing together the rear portions of the margins of each saidgroup to form the heel portions of the moccasins.

2. The method set forth in claim 1, and the step of running lines of stitching along the margins of said outsole after it has been cemented to the insole.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

